þér

See also: yer, ther, YER, -yer, and þer

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛːr

Etymology 1

From Old Norse þér.

Pronoun

þér

1. (personal) dative singular of þú

   Hún tók þetta epli frá þér.

   She took this apple from you.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ér; the initial þ comes from a rebracketing of ð in the second person plural verb ending (e.g. hafið ér → reinterpreted as hafið þér). The Old Norse derives from a variant of Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́.

Pronoun

þér

1. (archaic, formal) plural of þú
2. (dated, formal) you (the V-form in terms of T-V distinction)
   • Colossians 3:9

     Ljúgið ekki hver að öðrum, því þér hafið afklæðst hinum gamla manni með gjörðum hans.

     Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.

   Hvað hugsið þér?

   What do you think?

   Verið þér sælar, frú mín góð.

   Good day to you, milady.

Usage notes

As a formal V-form pronoun, þér can have a singular or plural referent, but is always grammatically plural, similar to Danish De, German Sie, French vous, etc. This pronoun has fallen out of everyday use, but lingers in the raw plural sense in biblical language, and finds occasional use as a V-form.

Declension

Icelandic honorific pronouns
plural	first person	second person
nominative	vér	þér
accusative	oss	yður
dative	oss	yður
genitive	vor	yðar

Old Norse

Etymology 1

From Proto-Norse *ᚦᛖᛉ (*þeʀ), Proto-Germanic *þiz, dative of *þū.

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈθeːr/

Pronoun

þér

1. dative of þú

Descendants

• Icelandic: þér
• Faroese: tær
• Old Swedish: þær, þæ

Etymology 2

From earlier ér, from Proto-Germanic *jīz, Northwest Germanic form of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. The initial þ comes from a pervasive sandhi effect, triggered by word-final ð in the second person plural verb endings (e.g. hafið ér → reinterpreted as hafið þér).

Alternative forms

• ér
• íʀ — Old East Norse

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈθeːr/

Pronoun

þér (Old West Norse)

1. you (plural); ye

Declension

Old Norse personal pronouns

number	first person	second person	reflexive	third person
case	singular			singular masculine	singular feminine	singular neuter
nominative	ek	þú		hann	hón, hǫ́n	þat
accusative	mik	þik	sik	hann	hana, hána	þat
dative	mér	þér	sér	hánum, hónum, hǫ́num	henni	því
genitive	mín	þín	sín	hans	hennar	þess
case	dual
nominative	vit	it, þit
accusative	okkr	ykkr	sik
dative	okkr	ykkr	sér
genitive	okkar	ykkar	sín
case	plural			plural masculine	plural feminine	plural neuter
nominative	vér	ér, þér		þeir	þær	þau
accusative	oss	yðr	sik	þá	þær	þau
dative	oss	yðr	sér	þeim	þeim	þeim
genitive	vár	yðar, yðvar	sín	þeira, þeirra	þeira, þeirra	þeira, þeirra

Descendants

• Icelandic: þér
• Faroese: tær
• Norwegian Nynorsk: de (also from þit)

References

• Byock, Jesse L. (2013) Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas, →ISBN, page 373